The inventor is John Delatorre. In 1999 he was a TV weatherman for ABC in Sacramento, California. Today he's the founder of Coughy Cup, Inc. of Sugar Land, Texas ( www.CoughyCup.com). "I'm no genius. It's like putting peanut butter with chocolate. I simply put a surgical mask filter into a paper coffee cup," said Delatorre.

The Coughy Cup™ made it to the second round of Wal-Mart's ‪"Get on the Shelf" contest. Voting is underway. Contest details can be found at getontheshelf.walmart.com.

"I know what some of you might be thinking. You're saying, 'John, you expect us to walk around coughing into a cup?' No. My germ-free cups are for confined areas where people are expected to sit for long periods of time," said Delatorre.

Office Cubicles and Homes

Schools, Prisons, Cruise Ships and Airlines

Daycare Centers and Nursing Homes

Hospitals and Waiting Rooms

"Schools represent a major line of defense. It's my hope pharmaceutical companies and the makers of cough medicines will donate the cups to schools. It's a win/win. It's good PR and students get free cups. We'll take care of printing their logos," said Delatorre.

The inventor also hopes to convince the airline industry to offer the cups to their passengers. "We're focusing on air travel, especially international flights. Consider the Middle East virus and the potential of a bird flu pandemic," said Delatorre.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are constantly seeking ways to better understand, treat and ultimately prevent infectious diseases.

The average child can catch between 6 to 12 colds every year.

Colds cause children to miss 22 million days of school every year.

More than 1 billion colds and more than 30 million flu cases occur every year.

Almost 1 million people have died related to influenza in the U.S. in the last 30 years.